Andrew Agress is a writer, experience designer, and dramaturg based in New York. He works to facilitate storytelling that actively engages audiences.
As an experiential dramaturg and designer, Andrew has created interactive and participatory segments for live shows. Most recently, Andrew created a participatory comedy show entitled The Fantastical Fellowship: Final Quest for the Crisis Crystal XXVII. It enjoyed several sold-out performances and received praise from audiences and critics alike for its joyful interactions.
Other recent experiential designs include a comedic pre-show framing device for Der Ring Gott Farblonjet and a gamified post-show reflection for She Walks the Air. Andrew has also worked in conventional dramaturgy for such theaters as Writers Theatre and En Garde Arts.
You can learn more about experiential dramaturgy from Andrew’s Columbia University MFA thesis, “Experiential Dramaturgy: Putting a Sense of Play Into Plays.” It is availably freely for downloading, sharing, and citing.
Andrew has written and produced a number of stage shows. In 2017, their historical comedy show Taking Ages received the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Award for Best Original Play. An avid horror fan, Andrew is producing New York’s Witching Hour horror theater festival for 2024.
Andrew’s criticism, interviews, and other writings on video games and theater feature in The Outerhaven, The Theatre Times, Comic Book Resources, Theatr, and other publications. Andrew previously served as the content manager for the Theatr App.